Reviews with content warning for Rape - If Beale Street Could Talk | The StoryGraph

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If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

158 reviews

harley_n66's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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amichellebee's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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agpowell's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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northcoastjulie's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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maurice_greenware's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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kingtrashmouth's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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proper_reading_material's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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rachelle_reads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

There are reasons why this is a classic, and why it shows up on banned books lists. Corrupt cops, Black men going to jail on trumped up charges… and really, at this center is a well-loved young person pregnant and looking towards the future. The book moves back and forth in time to complete the picture as the story moves forward. Baldwin’s characters are incredibly vivid. I look forward to reading more of his work.

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carleyhammers's review

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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kjordan96's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is my first James Baldwin book. If Beale Street Could Talk is a short and powerful novel. The depiction of racial injustice and corruption was raw and you could feel Baldwin’s anger and sadness through the pages.The dialogue was gritty and to the point. The odds were stacked against the lovers from the start, but you feel the anger and sadness right along with them. I did struggle a bit with the lack of chapters. My favorite character was Sharon (tish’s mother) who I felt embodied family support and doing what needs to be done. The ending is left a bit open to interpretation, but I found myself wanting to spend more time with Fonny and Tish to see what happens.

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